I admit up front, this is an unusual entry in this series. Today’s subject did not have a long and storied career in Kansas City, nor did he have a heroic postseason moment for the Royals. But this is a prime example of the old adage that a bad plan is better than no plan, … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Jeff Conine, 1998
The Year Of The Card–Roger Nelson, 1969
As has been mentioned in this space plenty of times, the expansion-era Royals, led by general manager Cedric Tallis, had a knack for acquiring overlooked players, letting them put up good performances, and then correctly deciding which ones to keep and which to trade for long-term pieces. A fine example of this is Roger Nelson, … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Roger Nelson, 1969
Talking Trades: Royals Acquire Major Piece In Minor Trade
The Royals famously built their late-1970s teams through a lot of great trades. Many times, those were deals where Kansas City shipped out a veteran for a young player who had been undervalued by his previous team. One such trade, and one that worked out probably better than the Royals ever hoped, came 45 years … Continue reading Talking Trades: Royals Acquire Major Piece In Minor Trade
The Year Of The Card–Jose Lind, 1993
Middle infielders who don’t hit well--it’s a Royals tradition. To be fair, pretty much all of Major League Baseball agreed with that view in the 1970s and 1980s, and the Royals, as an institution, learned they could win even with guys who hit .240 without power, as long as those guys scooped up every grounder … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Jose Lind, 1993
Filling Out My Royals Hall of Fame Ballot
The Royals announced Tuesday that fans can vote for the team’s Hall of Fame. The fan portion of the balloting equals three votes for each of the the top three vote-getters of the seven players eligible. Since the vote includes living members of the Hall of Fame, some Royals front office staff, team associates who … Continue reading Filling Out My Royals Hall of Fame Ballot
Talking Trades: Royals Pilfer Power From Pittsburgh Pirates
By my count on Baseball Reference, the Royals have made 15 trades with the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1969. Most of those were small potatoes deals, but when the teams have done business at the Winter Meetings, the Royals have done quite well for themselves. We just passed the 50th anniversary of one of those trades, … Continue reading Talking Trades: Royals Pilfer Power From Pittsburgh Pirates
Season In Review: The 1980 Royals Win KC’s First Pennant
When I decided to chronicle the daily adventures of the 1980 Royals, of course I was aware of the highlights--George Brett hitting .390, the first American League pennant, and so on. But spending so many nights with the team over the last six months (figuratively speaking, of course) has given me a new appreciation for … Continue reading Season In Review: The 1980 Royals Win KC’s First Pennant
This Date In Royals History–1980 Edition: October 22
Back in Kansas City a day before they wanted to be, the Royals got one nice consolation prize after losing the World Series. A crowd estimated at 100,000 turned out for a parade to honor the team, which ended at Liberty Memorial and also gave us this excellent picture of George Brett riding a horse: … Continue reading This Date In Royals History–1980 Edition: October 22
This Date In Royals History–1980 Edition: October 21
Steve Carlton handcuffed the Royals, allowing just four hits in seven innings while striking out seven, as the Phillies captured a World Series title by defeating the Royals 4-1 on a Tuesday night at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phillies won the Series four games to two. Appropriately, the final game was won by Philadelphia … Continue reading This Date In Royals History–1980 Edition: October 21
This Date In Royals History–1980 Edition: October 20
One last day off for the season as the World Series shifted back to Philadelphia for the final two games. Kansas City’s task for Game Six was daunting: beat Steve Carlton, who would win the Cy Young Award for the National League in 1980. The Royals were buoyed a bit by the fact they collected … Continue reading This Date In Royals History–1980 Edition: October 20
